The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1887-04-07
The State Chronicle
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THE DROUTH IN TEXAS.
Read bout the Hard Times in Te,a.
Thank God, and Take Courage.

ABILENE, TEXAS, March 2I. lSs7-It
may, perhaps, be an item of interest 70
your readers to hear directly, through tho
columns OF the CHRONICLE the present
condition of the people who occupy the
drouth- stricken portion of Texas. from
one VINO Is in the heart of the afflicted
country and has been here, with the ex-
ceptlon OF Two short periods, ever since he
left North Carolina, his native State. in
1881. The country affected by the drouth
comprises about fourteen adjacent coun-
Ties, each aoout forty miles square. 1t is
commonly, though enormously called West
| Texas. Our geographical position is near
the centre of the State. All this section
of country is rolling prairie land upon
which grows, here and there, the mesquite
tree alone, the mesquite being in size and
appearance, very similar to the ordinary
| peach tree. The soil is dark red sandy
| loan, with great deal of the sticking
| qualities of the "black waxeyr land Of
North East Texas, and with good seasons
the wild land is easily broken with a two
horse plow. Five years ago this was ex-
cluslvely cattle country, but the advent
Of the great Texas and Pacific trunk-line.
rapidly brought about the change until
now it is exclusively agricultural. Here
ana there all over the country NAV now
be seen small farms of forty, eighty, one
hundred and sixty, and six hundred and
forty acres each. The year preceding
the drouth 1855 was an unusually season.
able one and the yield of small grain, corn
and cotton was alr ost, without exception,
truly marvellous. This fact induced thou-
sands upon thousands of poor farmers
back last, and from almost every State in
the Union, to sell out clock, stock and bar
rel' and come to this country to try their
fortunes farming. Nor must one think
that farmers alone immigrated, their num-
Der was scarcely greater than that Of
SPECTATORS, merchants, mechanics, and
men OF every profession under the sun.
all dependent upon the future prosperity
and development of the country Ii may
be said that with very few exceptions,
every farmer, every mechanic and every
professional man, after buying aud build
ing and fixing himself up in his little
home, was left with little or no money.
He did not make it point to have any,
for 1t was easy to get; the farmer could
sell some of his land at an advanced price
if necessary. He could haul in wood and
get from two to four dollars for it; his
credit was good, for he had planted a crop.
Such Was the condition of affairs when,
eighteen months ago, the drouth began
We leave to the reader o picture the
various steps, and the gradual sinking of
our people to our present farming CON
dition. Nobody is product z; everybody
is consuming. Many that we're able to
leave, without too great a sacrifice, left,
and many others are now llere only be-
cause they are too poor to legtve.
The ground, as write, is try for six feet
below the surface and be,Dw the point
where the plow has reached, il is so com
pact and dry that a miners pick, when
welded by strong arm, Will not sink
further than two or three inches in it, and
the same is true of wild land from the sur
face down. Our prairie bree1es. which are
very similar to the ocean breeze and fully
as constant, at times, blow reat volumes
of dust and sand SO that now all the ditch
es and holes of the city and country around
are fu.l and great banks of sand and dust
may be seen, by nearly ever fence III the
city.
The only article of commerce. the only
source of revenue, is wood. Imagine, will
you, the cOndition:o that poor man who
will go over his little farm, cut down and
chop into stove wood his little mesquite
trees, fill his two horse wagon bed with it,
take whole day to drive twenty five miles
to town (and it will take him all of another
to go back and sell that load of wood for
seventy five cents or one dollar. Yet, /
have seen this very thing done time and
again. He has to compete with the man
who lives only four or five miles from
town. | have seen a load of wood bought
''for PHYS sake for fifty cents whic1, two
years ago, would easily sell for two and
one half dollars. Mechanics who were
getting 81. so and So 90 per day. now are
glad to get at a job 81 90 per day. Brick
which cost, two years ago, S12. 90 per thou
sand, now find hard sale at 500 per
thousand. Laborers who once got thirty
five cents per cubic yard ,iitching, now
vi hn RI hor rA nd
be- will gladly work for 16 cents per cubic
yard, and eight cubic yards per day is big
work for strong man. Houses which
rented for $500 per month, now stand
empty though offered for 800, some
houses which local landlords had built for
renters are now offered for sale for what
1t cost them to shingle them. Where per
sonal AMI city real property will be taken
as security, money is easily lent at fivepe
cent interest per month These are all
bare, naked, unvarnished facts and what
do they mean1 Simply that the starvation
point, with many, is nearly reached. U.s.
ually, when our rains do fall they come
with a rush and flood the country within
a few hours and run off; we have II slow,
steady, drizzling rain here, and yet.it will
take one of about months duration to
wet the ground properly. Even ram IN
| any quantity cannot relieve our present or
llnmeOlately coming neceSSlt les. After
| one has passed through the slough OF
Despnnd' himself and the reaction sets
! in, it becomes really amusing to walk along
the business streets Of the town, at almost
| any hour, and scan the faces Of those who
| stand, here and there, in groups. If one
were not familiar with the causes Of their
misery and discomfort he would at once
look around and among them expecting
to see some human form lying there cold
and lifeless, surrounded by these, his
friends mourning his untimely departure.
In spite of all this, We have n great grand
and beautiful country, and one destined
to be the richest agricultural country in
the world for the last ten years, as per OBJ
servations of the U. S. Signal Service
offices at this place, our annual rain fall
has averaged "a inches, and this drouth is
the severest one within the recollection of
the oldest inhabitant of the country
Ours, according to the facts, is not
drouthy country and can be called SO with
no more propriety than can South Carolina
be called the home Of earthquakes, but
the disaster now upon US, and at this writ
, ing, likely to continue for months, is at
! tended with suffering as great, anxiety as
painful, and prospects as gloomy, as those
of Charleston. 1t will cause our country